The Amakura Promise: Back to All Gods Village
by lurdokyle
Summary: Mio searches for a way to return to All God's Village to search for Mayu's spirit, and discovers the village has become peaceful after the Crimson Sacrifice was performed...and the tortured souls have returned to life. MioX? pairings, CHAPTER 2 UP
1. Chapter 1

**The Amakura Promise: Back to All Gods Village (Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly)**

_**Chapter One**_

By: Lurdokyle

Disclaimer: I do not own **Project Zero** or the **Fatal Frame **franchise, (but that would be cool if I did xD) so don't sue me please

Chapter 1 --- Mayu, a Memory

-rate as you as you see fit )

* * *

Among the commotion Mio could barely stand. The translucent preists heaved there ringed staffs toward the stony ceiling in unison. The Repentance has ended. Two Mourners trudged by the celebration of the unholy spirits. Not the grotesque Mourners, nor the vile task she had performed seemed register.

_...mayu...Mayu..._

She reawakened to the sad reality when the Mourners knelt on either side of a large slab of rock that rested unmovably on the floor of the cave. Her sister...her _twin..._

Mayu's body lay motionless on that slab of rock, where Mio only seconds before, layed on top of her dear sister. Mayu put Mio's hand around her neck. The Crimson Ritual had to be fulfilled.

_One sister kills the other..._

_The remaining sister stays to watch over the village..._

_Both feared and respected..._

"_I was born for this"_, Mayu had said sadly.

Mio squeezed her sisters neck. Gently, at first, but she increased pressure so Mayu could not breathe.

During that time, Mayu neither moved nor rejected Mio. She just lyed underneath Mio's body. The Ritual was unstoppable. It had to be performed. When Mayu silently died, Mio relieved Mayu's neck of her hands. A red rash had formed on her lifeless neck where she was strangled.

It was two small marks, crossing each other, Where Mio's thumbs had been;

And two large marks below the first pair, where the palms were positioned, and they curved upward around the sides of the neck.

It was plain: a Crimson Butterfly.

_The spirit of the sister that dies takes the form of a crimson butterfly, and flies into heaven, parting the evil clouds that darken the Village..._

When it was clear Mayu had died, The priests that surrounded them in the dark cave rejoiced.

Presently, Mio violenty shook her head in disbelief and looked fixedly upon those red marks on Mayu's flawless frame, and then to her hands which commitedthe atrocity.

"...no...no...NO!" she cried.

TheblindMourners took hold of her sisters feet and arms, And after a two swings heaved her into the giant dark rectangular chasm of the Abyss. The scene passed like slow-motionto Mio. She almost reached for the Camera Obscura, which she kept halfway in her pocket because of its' size.

"Nooo!" wept Mio, running up to the edge of the Abyssal Hell and gazing into itsblack depths.

"Mayu!" she cried.

Suddenly, a Butterfly fluttered up from the dark and hovered a little above Mio.

"Thank You" said her twin. The words resonated throughout the chamber with a sincere echo that bounced off the walls.

"Mayu! Dont go! Forever together, remember?"

The glowing crimson butterfly flapped its wings hard and began ascending to the cavern ceiling.

"Mayu! Dont leave me!"

The promise...Forever together...her twin...her_family_...the _best friend_...Forever, ... together.

Mayu raced up the cavern halls with inhuman speed. Out of the ceremony house and across the whisper bridge, through the dirt streets of the Village, and bounded up the path into the dark forest.

"Mayu!", she cried for her sister.

Mio stopped on a raised hill with an cliff overlook of Village. This hill harbored a sacred stone where the crimson spirits of the shrine maidens could pass through the cave roof and out of the ground, to continue it's journey to the heavens. There, she saw Mayu's spirit emerge, and it fluttered its glowing orange wings through the air, taking notice of her twin sister.

Mayu continued to fly up an adjecent hill, followed closely by a heart-broken Mio who screamed for her sister to come to her. Although Mio was running as fast as she could, she stumbled over the lush foliage that aided in Mayus distancing, all the while yelling with her hands covering her tear-soaked face.

"Mayu! I'm so, so sorry Mayu! I'm sorry!" Her voice was shaky from her crying but the words were clear.

Suddenly, the forest canopy parted as she climbed through a clearing where a shrine gate stood.

What she saw amazed her, but her detirmination did not deviate.

There were _thousands_.

The spirtits of old Shrine maidens and Alter twins swirled through the night sky, beating there beautiful wings and lighting the never-ending night that consumed the village.

They were everywhere. they flew from behind, and in groups, and twirled and flipped and dove.

Mayu joined in with them and Mio could'nt tell which one was her twin. "Mayu No!" Mio screamed, and then she cried out again faintly, losing control:

"Stay with me. please." Yellow sunlight poured out from the mountains of the horizon. One orange butterfly approached her swiftly and gracefully, while all the other ones headed past.

Mio, out of sadness, extended an arm up to her face, with her pointer finger out.

Her Twin, her Sister, her Friend...

_"Mio, promise me that we'll stay together always" ... that is what you said Mayu!_

The lone butterfly cast and orange-red glow as it hastilly approached a distraught Mio. Mayu gracefully fluttered to her finger and hovered there for about a second. Mio felt her sister brush the tip of her finger. She flew away into the crowd which ascended to heaven at last.

"MAYU!" Screamed Mio, collaping in the grassy knoll and sobbing violently into her palms. Mio did not cry because she killed her sister. She knew it had to be done, to save the Village, and herself. For Sae, and Yae, for Mustsuki, and poor Itsuki, and Chitose, and Azame and her sister, and even the tortured soul of the late Kabusi folklorist. She cried because Mayu would never be next to her again, never seen or heard or felt again.

The sun broke free over the mountains and dissolved the never-ending night that the Village suffered. The dense dense fog pulled back from the intrusion, leaving Mio surrounded by sunlight and the sweet smell of a nearby cherry blossom tree. The grass felt cold and real beneath her. Mio was back home, in her own time. _But where was Mayu to celebrate with?_

Mio turned her head to the brilliant sky of Japan,ponderinglifewithout her Mayu to be there for her when she needed help.

The stream where Mio and Mayu used to play was visible again, and her surroundings changed to the present forest as if undistubed by the mysterious aura that snatched wanderers away to the Village. Mio and Mayu just saved the tortured souls of All God's Village by themselves. But Mayu died. Half of the Amakura Twins was dead.There really was no way to stop the Ritual after all, Mio had concluded. It had to go on for the sake of the Village. More twins would need sacrificing, more lives taken to save others in the Village. But isn'tthrowing awayjust one humansoul worth saving many, many more?

Of couse not.

Mio sat quitely on a bench. Calm wind pushed ripples through a small resevoir. Her gaze and thoughts looked up the lake that rippled in the sunlight. The local dam was finished and theplayground of her childhood drowned, where so many memories resided. The area of forest where she used to play with her twin sunken, along with the Village. Along with Mayu.

More than a month later Mio could not find any resolve for happiness, except for knowing her sister could rest in peace beneath the waves, or wherever she was.

_'Mayu, I would die too see you again. But I can't die now ... because ... you died so I could live on...' _Mio closed her eyesas the wind picked up.

Upon her neck and upper chest there was a strange red-orange mark, abeautiful crimson butterfly. She remembered finding a book in the Ceremony Masters' house about thiseerie stigmata. It would seem that the Remaining are endowed with this mark that tattoos itself ontothe ones' who die in themindinstead of the body. She was honored when she first dicovered it. Ever since she carried it with sadness, honored to bare the sign of the selfless Mayu Amakura. She was clueless about the origin of the Hellish Abyss, and why twins had to be sacrificed. She remembered something about two parts of a deity that were split at birth when she was rummaging through documents in the folklorist's cell, some kind of superstition that took control of an entire village. A _religion_, perhaps? There was no way to discover the truth now that the evidence was buried in the watery basin.

_"Didn't we always promise each other... that we would always be together?" _

_"Together ... forever"_

Mio shot her eyes open.

_...forever._

"I-I know how to go **back**!"

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_Authors Notes:_

I will submit chp.2 soon!

Just to let you know: The story takes place during/after the 1st Ending. Not when you beat it on other difficulties and the end cutscenes are different, like Mio goes blind when she looks into the Hellish Abyss or When Mio pulls Mayu back when Sae and Yae fall into the Abyss together and everything is happy-go-lucky.

Nope, this is when Mio suffacates Mayuat the alter becausethey have to complete the Crimson Sacrifice to contain the Malice that comes out of the Hellish Abyss. Man, that ending almost made me cry. Mayu is so noble and selfless sniffle

anyway the story shall proceed on as Mio tries to return to the village to be with Mayu's spirit butterfly, but finds Itsuki and the other spirits have returned to life when the Repentance ends...

**Lurdokyle**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Amakura Promise: Back to All Gods Village (Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly)**

_**Chapter two**_

By: Lurdokyle

Disclaimer: I do not own **Project Zero** or the **Fatal Frame **franchise, but i'm saving up...xD

Chapter two --- Towards the North

-rate as you as you see fit )

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Mio regurgitated and redigested the revelation over and over in her head. It was worth a try, this plan, and the outcome was definitely more beneficial than the amount of effort she would be able to input. 

'_Mayu…I'm going to bring your spirit back with me…were going to be sisters again soon…'_ thought Mio sadly, but that thought was followed by the first smile she'd made in more than a month.

The bitter chill of loneliness greeted her with each step she took alone.

She felt that spark of warmth in her chest when she walked with another girl, or her parents. She set aside this feeling, however, because facing loneliness was better than running from it. But as of late, Mio walked with a bounce in her step, and the reason was enlightening. She finally found a way to get her sister back while reminiscing her tragic twin, though it would be difficult, no obstacle she could imagine would stop her. But their was.

Today was the day! This perfect sunny day would be the most gracious of hosts for her endeavor!

Presently, Mio was running down a sidewalk next to a busy street. The sweet smells of wild flowers wafted through the air, and a humble breeze met with her ever slightly paled legs.

She sported a thin, yellow sleeveless shirt with a white mini-skirt that had a floral pattern woven into the hem. The outfit was not too casual, but she wore them for a reason.

Cradled in her arms, a large parcel bounced with the irregular steps, and she had trouble controlling down it the steep hill.

On her left was the reservoir only about a hundred yards off, but the metal barrier prevented her from jumping over, plus a lofty fall into the forest would sort of hurt, to say the least.

It was a perfect day to execute the plan, the sun was warm and the wind was almost non-existent, people were walking outside and the moods were high on this much anticipated Saturday.

Mio caught the bottom of the incline haphazardly and stumbled awkwardly to the pavement. Unfortunately, as this happened, a blue and white police car drove lazily past, but it wasn't until she collected her belongings and picked herself up did she realize the car turned around swiftly, from the high hill from which she had descended. With a quick glance, she glimpsed the patroller turn around in mid-street, which was answered by a volley of angry pedestrians and the chime of horns that followed the maneuver. Rubber screeched against asphalt. It was time to run, and that was what she did. With all the 'special' treatment lately, Mio was used to being spied upon by cops under the payroll of her parents. Whether or not her tale was true, it would not seem ethical for a possibly psychotic teenager wandering the streets.

'_Oh No! Mother must have called the police when I ran!' _thought a panicking Mio.

Mio swiftly returned her focus to the task at hand, and booked-it full speed ahead. Cold sweat formed on her brow, and she began to shake; never had she imagined herself actually fleeing from a policeman. She knew what would happen to her if she were caught.

But more importantly, she _needed _to know what became of her dear Mayu.

_Mayu………… Mayu…………_

Her pink sandals crashed into the pavement with renewed vigor, and Mio felt deep in her heart that with every step she made, her sister was closer to her, huddled tighter in her arms. How warmer she felt when the distance between Mio and Mayu began closing.

Mio could not feel anything since then but the loathsome emptiness of her own soul calling Mayu to her once again...

_Mayu! Mayu! I want to tell you so many things! I want to talk together…_

The pedestrians littering the sidewalks scattered slowly away from the road, the cop's siren now blaring into the air, drowning away the peace.

_I want to play together again, and cry together, and smile..._

Suddenly, the car veered off the road, and bumped over the curb, directly into Mio's path. The driver's door began to open, but the scrawny officer inside was taken by complete urprise when Mio's foot plowed into the side of it, crashing it shut in his face with a howl of pain that rivaled the shriek of the sirens.

"Mayu I'm coming for you **NOW**!" she wailed over the awe-struck crowd that encircled the audacious spectacle, before bolting down the next street with parcel in-hand.

Spectators in the street were pointing and shouting, some of which knew Mio, and laughed horribly at policeman that was cuffing his face in pain and putting the squad vehicle in reverse at the same time.

Murmurs of excitement erupted into the air when the car veered off the walk and shot down the street in pursuit of the young girl. With one hand he steered, leaning his head into his navy blue arm sleeve to comfort his nose, and with the other he radioed in the whereabouts of the missing girl.

'_I'm never gonna smell right again' _, he grimaced as he thought.

"She's heading to the dam!" he yelled into the receiver while a new surge of pain shot through his face, "Get this damn kid's mother here already!"

_Mayu, if I find you, I'll take you back and we'll show everyone! We'll stay together **forever**_._ You asked me to promise. You asked me to promise!_

She cut off the road and down into the forest toward the lake. She was not far now, but the memories she hated flooded through the elegant corridors of her mind,

And then it hit her like a blow to the stomach. That time she spent in the folklorist's cell. Mio had promised. Mio ran that memory through her head slowly…

"_Mayu c'mon", beckoned Mio through the adjoining hall, but Mayu did not move from her cell. _

_Mio glanced around curiously, and saw the heavy marble door begin closing…on its own. Nothing could be done before the door slammed shut, enclosing Mayu in a prison._

_A small window with no bars was cut intricately through the heavy marble of the door in an interesting pattern. Mayu was so scared… pleaded me to stay with her…_

"_Wait here for just a little while I find a key Mayu!"_

"_Bu-But Mio! You….promised!"_

"_I know I'll only be a little while" Mio had declared through the window._

_Defeated, Mayu lowered her head silently and shut her eyes, "but…you promised", came a timid murmur._

"…_Mayu…"_

_No response._

_And with that, Mio left wordlessly in search of the key. _

"I had already broken our promise" Mio whispered to herself, as she trotted onto a wooded dock over the dammed lake.

She emptied the contents of the plastic parcel onto the new wood: A flashlight, fresh rice balls wrapped in a handkerchief, a clear transparent dive bag, some bandage and wound kits, a pair of goggles, and of course the Camera Obscura.

Hearing the siren disappear in the distance, she neatly organized them on the warm wood. When everything was to her liking, she stood up and stretched casually, taking in the cool breeze as well as her sublime surroundings.

'_That officer must not have predicted I would be heading for the lake' _she thought distantly.

'_But if that guy radioed Mother than she would surely know I am by the lake…'_

This was true. This part of the city held no interest for her except sitting before the lake and falling into deep thought.

The lake had become quite popular for kids, to frolic in the shallower parts to the east and the west. The north was where the dam was built, so it was the deepest there. Mio was on the southern shore, a heavily wooded area that was almost impossible to see from the busy high road.

Nearby a father and a son fished off the shore in bright clothes, and there was an older boy not too far off who laughed at the pair of fishers, whose efforts were fruitless in the turbid and rocky water.

Mio kicked off her sandals and smiled, bending lower to remove her skirt, followed by her shirt, exposing a purple one-piece swimsuit that was underneath, decorated with a duo of sunflowers on the side that were colored in segments of green, yellow, blue, and orange. The suit was tight and complimented her curvaceous frame. She never really looked at herself that way anymore, it used to be a hobby of her and Mayu's to compare outfits and other accessories.

Mio was a just a tiny bit short for her age, but this was not too recognizable at once. After changing she knelt back to the dock and carefully placed her clothes and items set forth into the dive-bag. She produced a smaller dive-bag from the first that looked as if it could hold no more than a basketball in it. This is where she put the Camera Obscura

Satisfied, she compressed the bags and locked the goggles around her face.

'_This is it Mayu.'_

Two days ago the plan took form in her mind. She was so excited that it was happening for real. She was going to bring her sister _back._

She ran the childhood map through her mind, closing her eyes in anticipation…

_Our secret base was…_

_past the Sad Oak stump…_

_and…_

_over the ridge of the baby waterfall…_

…

_That's where we were…_

_when Mayu chased the butterflies…_

_and we past that stone …_

_that statue of the two deity figures…_

…

_is what lured us in…_

_Yes…I'm sure of it!_

Her expression hardened as she thought.

She took hold of the dive-bags and ran the length of the dock leaping into the air, ending with a splash as she crashed into the chilly water. When she surfaced, she allowed the bags with her supplies to fill partially with air, so they could help her swim. Grabbing the bags in front, one under either arm, she kicked her way calmly towards the north, towards the Dam, in spite of thelawmen that down the East and West shores.

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Author's Notes: 

Sorry for the wait...life got in the way...goin to italy next wednesday (woohoo) so you can expect the next submission in about a day or two, promise!

The story gets happier, I swear! It will flow together in time...

But for now, I shall dance+dances+

I really hope you like it and thanks for the great reviews! -

**Lurdokyle**


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